“You’ll Know It When You See It”

Gnat’s mind was still swirling from the “ride” in the transporter, and now she found herself staring up at a large building that seemed strangely familiar. She found herself gripping Tyler’s arm tightly. He rested his free hand on hers steadying her. Faded memories filled the recesses of her mind, but try as she might Gnat just couldn’t seem to get any of them to stick long enough to make sense of them. She only knew that there was something dark and sinister about the building that loomed before her.

Tyler gently tugged on Gnat’s arm. “We must hurry!” he exclaimed, urging her forward. Gnat tried to dig her heels into the ground in protest, but she couldn’t get a foothold and her attempts ended up being futile. “I can’t do this.” she cried, “I can’t go in there”

Years on the streets had taught Gnat not to be afraid of much. She had survived numerous fights, including several knife fights, and even a rape/beating. But she was afraid now – a deeply embedded, unexplainable fear that she still couldn’t put her finger on and that disturbed her further. Gnat wasn’t use to being afraid, being afraid on the streets could get you killed. Fear was something to be staunched, but now at it ate at her nearly paralyzing her with panic making it difficult to breath.

Every muscle in her body screamed for her to run, but Tyler’s hand had tightened around her arm preventing her from doing so. For a man who appeared to be in his 80’s his grip was surprisingly strong. He bent his head to her ear whispering softly, soothingly, ” You can do this!” He assured her, “You must do it. Your the only one who can”

“But I have no idea what I’m even looking for” Gnat protested. “You’ll know” Tyler replied, “You’ll know when you see it.”

Gnat looked again at the large building before her The fear was still there, but not as overwhelming as before. Tyler was right she could do this. Again Tyler’s voice whispered in her ear, “I won’t let anything happen to you.” he said it as a promise. “Don’t let the physical appearance of my age fool you”

Tyler meant what he had said with every fiber of his being. He would not let anything happen to her. Many years ago when he had been little more than a child himself, Gnat’s home had burned and she had lost her whole family overnight. He had begged his parents to take her in, worrying about what would happen to her if she were put in foster care. But they had refused to listen, the ongoing family feud between his family and hers being the biggest reason. They stubbornly refused to listen to reason, refused to help a young girl who now had nothing. No home. No family.

Tyler waited as patiently as he could, but he knew time was running short. He needed Gnat to find the item that would help locate the person who had stolen his key to time travel. He needed to get that key back so he could continue his research, continue to find away to make time travel work properly. Only then could he return to his proper time .

Taking a deep breath, Gnat gathered together her courage, courage that had served her well over the years, and followed Tyler and Freddy (who had been standing silently nearby) towards the building.

Inside, the building appeared even larger that it had appeared from the outside and more daunting. Gnat had no idea where to even begin looking and she still had no idea what she was looking for. And there was still the question of why Tyler had gone through the trouble of buying this estate – Gnat could only assume that “this” was the estate that he and Mrs. Chan had been talking about earlier in the conversation she had overheard.

Tyler spoke just two words, “Lights on” Instantly the front hallway (or atleast that’s where Gnat assumed they were) lit up. The space inside the large building seemed endless. To her left was a staircase that seemed to go nowhere in particular. Directly ahead of her and slightly to the right Gnat saw what appeared to be an elevator.

Gnat walked over to the elevator and stared at the wall looking for a way to “call” the elevator, but she saw nothing. While she was staring at it Tyler simply said “elevator”. Instantly the doors opened and he ushered her inside. Like the outside, there were no buttons in which to indicate what floor she wanted. Tyler looked to Gnat, waiting for her to say where she wanted to go. “Top floor” she said a bit nervously. Suddenly the doors closed and she felt the same rush she had in the transporter earlier, her stomach feeling as if it was going to drop out as the elevator lurched upward.

A second later the doors opened again and they were on the top floor. Gnat stepped out of the elevator with Tyler (and of course Freddy) directly behind her. Gnat made her way towards the door she saw at one end of the long hallway, figuring it was as good as place as any to start.

She had no idea how many rooms she had searched through trying to find whatever it was that Tyler had said she needed to find. Still having no idea what she was looking for. Neither Tyler nor Freddy seemed to be able to give her any clues except that she would “know when she found it”. Gnat searched the room she was in carefully, but didn’t find anything. She was just about to abandon the room to search another when something caught her
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I wonder where Leonard will take us next and just what is this “thing” that caught Gnats eye?? Stay tuned as we continue the collaboration story – none of us knowing what the next person will come up with until it’s reveal each Thursday.

7 thoughts on ““You’ll Know It When You See It” A Collaboration Challenge Story”

This story is so intriguing thus far. Not only that, but I love how seamless each part of the story is sewn in. That’s hard to do with multiple writers who embody different styles and voices. Great job! Tena, I like how you brought in Tyler’s side of the story regarding the fire… it helps enrich the connection between Tyler and Gnat. Love this so far!

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